Fire at Algiers orphanage kills 8, injures 19, cause unknown

A fire tore through the Etablissement de l'enfance assistée in Mohammadia, in Algiers’ eastern suburbs, killing at least 11 people and injuring 19 as civil defence crews kept fighting the blaze hours later. The cause was not immediately known.

Authorities did not initially specify the ages of the dead or injured, but state media later said the victims included children. Civil defence said five people with disabilities were evacuated to safety, and 10 of the injured suffered burns of varying severity.

Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb visited the burn center in Zeralda and Mustapha Pasha hospital on Thursday, checking on survivors as the government promised full medical and psychological care for the victims and support for their families. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune also conveyed condolences through official channels for the deaths of children in the fire.

The blaze struck as Algeria was already under severe heat, with civil protection units reporting 913 fires nationwide since July 8. Media reports said nearly 1,000 fires had been recorded across the country in the space of a week. Officials did not link the Mohammadia fire to the weather, and the fire at the orphanage remained under active firefighting hours after it began.

The home was a child welfare institution, which made the toll especially severe for residents who depended on staff, emergency exits and rapid evacuation. With five people with disabilities pulled out alive and 10 burn cases counted among the injured, the fire pointed to the vulnerability of institutions that house children and other people who cannot safely escape on their own when flames spread quickly.